The Little Choices in Life
by Sgamer82
Summary: Post-Canon Conan: Ai learns a lesson that every decision, big or small, is important. Written for Poirot Café's Super Short Contest #26: Bandage (ONE-SHOT)


**_Detective Conan  
_** ** _The Little Choices in Life  
_** by  
sgamer82

"You are really going to make me do this, aren't you?"

"Have I done anything since you joined this family to make you think otherwise?"

"Good point," Ai sighed. "This is the toy store all over again..."

"Which means you know exactly what I'm after."

Yukiko Kudo sat across from Ai and held the girl's choices out in front of her. Ai made an effort to consider her options seriously. If she chose randomly Yukiko only would force her to pick again or, possibly worse, declare on Ai's head be it and simply give her exactly what she decided.

 _"If it's a second childhood you want, it's a second childhood you're going to get."_

These words ran through the mind of Ai Kudo, formerly Shiho Miyano, briefly Ai Haibara, as she made her choice. It was the stipulation Yukiko had included in her offer to adopt Ai into the family. It was a stipulation Ai had agreed to. It was a stipulation that, overall, had worked out for all involved.

With the Organization largely gone and APTX-4867 as cured as it was going to be, Ai's only obligations now were to keep her grades above a certain level, help with minor chores, and keep Yusaku and Yukiko up to date on her whereabouts when she was out of the house. The first was simplicity itself, the second was actually _less_ work than when she'd lived with Professor Agasa, and, with the Organization only _largely_ gone, the security issue was acceptable, if onerous. Outside of those requirements, Ai could basically do as she pleased and the lack of serious responsibility had gradually helped her to relax more.

On the flip side, every so often her new parents dropped these scenarios on her. Circumstances designed to encourage her to take advantage of, or otherwise enjoy, her new life; to get her to, if not actually behave immaturely, at least try to act without the restraint an adult would be expected to have. Yusaku kept things straightforward, preferring regular outings such as day trips to the zoo to appeal to Ai's love for animals. Yukiko, on the other hand, liked to get creative. She seemed to enjoy contriving situations for Ai to behave childishly in or, as was the case now, improvising when an opportunity presented itself.

"Are you done yet, Ai?" a girl's voice called out from the backyard. A pair of boys' voices echoed the question.

"Sounds like your friends are getting impatient," Yukiko said in a teasing tone.

Ai sighed again. She knew Yukiko would keep her here, and keep her friends waiting, until Ai made her decision. That in mind, Ai pointed and made her choice. Yukiko nodded and smiled.

"All right, give me your leg."

Ai obeyed, lifting her left leg so the heel rested on Yukiko's knee. Yukiko looked down, grimaced, took out a handkerchief, and dabbed at Ai's knee. Ai winced. The knee she had skinned while playing with her friends had been cleaned and disinfected, but it was still tender to the touch, even if that touch was just a light mopping of blood that had flowed during the last several minutes. Satisfied with her work, Yukiko set the handkerchief aside and picked the bandage Ai had chosen from the assortment before her.

"You know," she said to Ai, "I had even odds you'd go for the dinosaurs, thinking I wouldn't let you pick the obvious choice."

"They _were_ a close second," Ai confessed. "And for that exact reason. Then I remembered the toy store. You wouldn't let us leave until I picked something _I_ liked. So I realized the obvious answer was most likely the right one."

Yukiko shook her head as she put the bandage Ai had selected over Ai's knee.

"So close," Yukiko said. " _So_ close, but you haven't quite gotten it, yet."

"Gotten what, yet?" Ai asked, frowning.

"This wasn't some test, Acchan," Yukiko told her. "There wasn't a 'right choice' or 'wrong choice', only ' _your_ choice'. I know you understand that, or you wouldn't be sitting here as Ai Kudo in the first place. What you don't seem to have worked out is, while that's obviously important for choices like 'should I go back to my old life or start over as a seven year-old?', it's just as important, maybe even _more_ important, when it comes to silly things like 'do I want a bandage with dinosaurs, Yaiba, paw prints, or nothing at all on my cuts?'."

The frown remained, but Ai's expression otherwise went from irritated to thoughtful as she considered Yukiko's words.

"Done," Yukiko announced.

Ai stood, testing her leg. It hurt, but it was nothing that would debilitate her.

"Thank you," Ai said.

"All part of the job," Yukiko told her, then shooed her off to rejoin her friends.

As Ai headed back outside she glanced down at the bandage decorated in paw prints that covered her knee. It didn't matter what she chose. Not really. For all practical purposes, any of the bandages she had been given would have done the job. If Ai understood correctly, however, the lesson her adopted mother had been trying to impart was that irrelevance was precisely _why_ her choice mattered.

One of Shiho Miyano's many regrets was the realization of how little control she had possessed over her previous life. Preventing that from happening this time around was one of the things she resolved to improve upon with her second chance. When Ai was offered a place in the Kudos' home, and considering the drive and ambition with which the Kudos; Yusaku, Yukiko, and Shinichi alike, lived their lives, the choice had seemed obvious. Today's events served as a reminder of why that was. Why Ai had started her new life in the Kudo home as its second child rather than simply remain with Professor Agasa.

With her family's help Ai Kudo would never again be a passive participant in her own life.


End file.
